Conversations with Jugglers EP.4: Jonah Botvinick Greenhouse

[@notimetowaste6012]

Thanks for another great video and interview! About the "controversial" part, the "could, but didn't" distinction that you make at 11:02 is important. I think it would have been accurate to simply point out that Jonah and other jugglers have successfully done many amazing tricks that Gatto never learned or attempted, but it's quite a leap to conclude that this makes them "better than Anthony Gatto ever was". There's a lot more to consider beyond the 7-club for 4 minutes record. While there are many examples of great jugglers becoming better than Gatto at some specific sub-skills, it seems clear to me that Gatto at his peak had superior consistency and technical skills overall.

[@randomalbum9879]

Gatto had a completely different skill set! While it may not LOOK as technical as the site swap style that Jonah does, that doesn't mean that the moves weren't equally as difficult. Like when he did a 7 ring 5 up 360 under the bouncing ball on the Time Warped show. Jonah made a good point, gatto had such good control on any number, that he could virtually learn any trick he wanted quicker than normal. I'm blown away by the fact that Gatto was able to juggle 8 balls (and rings) for over a minute! And HUNDREDS of catches with 9, NINE! And he did learn and create many insanely difficult tricks with those high numbers, you can see examples in his Gatto Entertainment series on KZbin All that being said, I see Garfield's point too, the accomplishments of these kids are absolutely OUTSTANDING and they definitely have the potential to be better than Gatto was.

[@benceonodi291]

Jonah is my favourite juggler. His videos motivate me the best, because he not just have an incredible skill level, but also he has the most beatiful tehnics. I'm so happy he juggle again!

[@TheJugglingGenius]

Nice interview. I have to disagree with your opinion of Gatto. I have seen all the jugglers you mentioned perform live at least once and Gatto about 10 times. Jonah is a great juggler, but watch his 2017 IJA performance(The last one I saw him do live) and a Gatto performance video picked at random ( I watched the 2008 Kooza Cirque production) For instance, Anthony ends his routine with 26 throws of 7 clubs and Jonah does a flash of 7 clubs. You are comparing one of the most consistent professional jugglers of all time to a group of talented amateurs. Gatto has worked in the highest pressure situations (Solo act in Cirque du Soliel, Monte Carlo Circus Festival etc.) in the field of variety. If you want jugglers who can compete under the type of pressure you find during the Olympic Games I would suggest seeing what they can do in front of a live audience, and not just on video. I have not watched a lot of WJF footage, if there is a live competition routine from one of the jugglers you mentioned that you think is "greater" than what Gatto could perform I would love to see it.

[@notimetowaste6012]

I agree with all your main points, but I do want to say that "talented amateurs" is quite an understatement. Watch that Jonah 2017 IJA performance again (it's on youtube). The 7 clubs flash at the end is one of the least interesting parts of it. How many professional jugglers could do that routine? I don't know, but my guess is that no one else can currently do that specific routine with those high singles. A handful (5 maybe? 10 at most.) can do some other great routine with comparably difficult moves.

[@pieman4514]

Any chance you have connections to Gatto and could get him for one of these interviews? That would be awesome if you could

[@randomalbum9879]

I would love to see Gatto in an interview too! I don't think he would want to, though. He practiced juggling probably close to every waking moment of his life, 7 days a week, from like 4 years old told 40+ years old. It might be like another decade before Gatto wants to talk about anything remotely related to juggling again or look at a juggling prop.

[@pieman4514]

@@randomalbum9879 sadly thats true, he never really did any interviews even during his juggling career. I can only remember the ones from when he was extremely young, after he grew up a bit and started performing professionally he never gave anymore, at least to my knowledge...We can hope though

[@randomalbum9879]

@@pieman4514 true that. I also saw a video where he talks to a fan about why he juggles bouncing balls instead of bean bags. He went on a rant about how bean bags change shape and arent as constant. I personally still prefer bean bags lol, they're easier to catch and pick up. And alex barron learned to juggle 13 bean bags only 5 years after he learned how to juggle. So I'm going the Alex Barron route 🤣

[@randomalbum9879]

I think you're correct in the sense that they're better than Anthony Gatto compared to when Gatto was the same age. If you put 17 year old Anthony Gatto vs 17 year old Delaney Bayles, she would slaughter him at tricks and technicality. But even then wouldn't their overall skill be equal? Because Gatto had the upper hand on numbers. He was already able to do 8 clubs when he was a teen ager. Also 10 rings for 19 catches which is basically a qualify. And he set the world record for 8 rings as a teen (which has not been broken ever since, not even by himself). However, in his PRIME, Gatto did many tricks that were up to par with Jonah and Delaney etc. in my opinion. In "To Be The Best III" he did a 7 ball cascade into a 7 ball FULL shower, BACK into a 7 ball cascade. And the famous 7 up 360 with clubs. I'm not sure when he made that DVD, but he was at least in his late 20s (most likely older). I think that they're not YET to Gatto's prime skill level, but only because they haven't lived long enough to build that amount of experience, but they will most likely peak at a skill level much higher than Gatto's peak when they reach the same age or sooner.

[@ricefamily8061]

You nailed it on the saving up between levels part, I'm curious as to the cost of the much higher levels to come. With 1 kid out of 5 so far wanting to go for his skill level certs from 1A - 2C + WJF membership is only $130 but over the next 2 years applying for each level so it's going to be a total of $650 to get them all certified level by level until they hit 2C if they manage to get each certificate on the 1st application. So i'm genuinely curious about the cost of the much higher levels and if they will reach the point they become $50 + per level

[@EricJackson]

Jonaaaaaaaah